People will only be denied legal aid if they earn over £100,000, Chris
Grayling has said, as he defended flagship Government reforms to the justice
system.

Mr Grayling, the Justice Secretary, insisted that his changes to the legal aid system will only hit the wealthiest following warnings from experts that they will leave middle-class families with huge fees.

He was responding to claims made by Alistair MacDonald QC, Vice Chairman of the Bar Council, who said that the reforms will create a two-tier justice system where only the wealthiest can afford to have the defence of their choice.

Mr McDonald warned that the legal aid reforms will hit thousands of "hard working people" who in cases because they "defend their homes against a burglar, clip a cyclist accidentally, they become involved in a dispute with their neighbour or their sons or daughters get into trouble".

Critics have said that people earning more than £37,500 will be denied legal aid under the new system, but sources in the Justice department pointed out that this figure is after people have paid tax, national insurance, their mortgage, council tax, childcare and paid for all of their living expenses.

“The changes to entitlement to legal aid are really designed only to affect people earning £100,000-a-year or more,” Mr Grayling said.

“They are absolutely not designed to affect people on relatively low incomes who will always carry on getting access to legal support if they find themselves in court.”

Mr Grayling believes the reforms will cut the legal aid bill by £220 million a year. He is also introducing competitive tendering among solicitors' firms for contracts to represent defendants in police stations and magistrates courts.

Mr Grayling added: "We will continue to uphold everyone's right to a fair trial - these proposals will not affect that in any way. Professional, qualified lawyers will still be available, just as they are now, and contracts will not be awarded to lawyers who do not pass set quality standards.

"With one of the most expensive legal aid systems in the world - about £1 billion a year is spent just on criminal legal aid - we can no longer avoid examining how to deliver better value for every penny of taxpayers' money we spend.”